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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28431708">glowing dim as an ember</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lingerlikeatattookiss/pseuds/lingerlikeatattookiss'>lingerlikeatattookiss</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1920s, Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Anastasia (1997 &amp; Broadway), Katara is Dmitry, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Non-Graphic Violence, Politics, Zuko is Anya, because I said so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:02:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,611</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28431708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lingerlikeatattookiss/pseuds/lingerlikeatattookiss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten years after the Fire Nation royal family is killed by revolutionaries, Prince Zuko's body is still yet to be found. Determined to reunite with his last relative, former Fire Lord Iroh offers a reward for the return of his nephew. Determined to find a way out of the Fire Nation, con artists and siblings, Katara and Sokka, form a plan.</p><p>They find Lee, a twenty-one year old with amnesia and a close likeness to Prince Zuko, and train him to become royalty. But as they learn more about Lee's past, they discover he might be closer to royalty than they thought.</p><p>A Zutara retelling of Anastasia</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara &amp; Sokka (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>112</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is: The Zutara Anastasia AU that we've all needed. I loved the movie growing up and Anastasia is one of my favorite Broadway shows, so I'm very excited to write this. This work will be inspired by the musical more than the movie, simply to seem as realistic as possible, but I plan to incorporate some scenes from the cartoon as well. Thank you to my twitter mutuals for inspiring this and I hope you all enjoy.</p><p>Note: This chapter contains the deaths of the Fire Nation royal family. It's not graphic, but reader discretion is advised.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A cool breeze brushes by Prince Zuko as he sits in the palace gardens, carrying the conversations of the many aristocrats waiting to enter the ballroom.</p><p>The pond in front of him is illuminated by the moonlight, casting a glow on the turtleducks that swim idly in the water. In the reflection, he sees a large figure approach.</p><p>“Uncle! I thought you’d already left,” he turns towards the former Fire Lord, who’d given up his title in exchange for a quiet life in Ba Sing Se after the loss of his wife left him unable to rule properly. </p><p>“I would never leave without saying goodbye to my favorite nephew first.”</p><p>“I’m your only nephew,” Zuko replies dryly.</p><p>“Ah, well then, please forgive my indiscretion. Perhaps, I could bribe you with this,” Iroh says, placing a pearl handled dagger in his nephew’s hands. His eyes glisten as the young boy’s face lights up.</p><p>Zuko reads the blade’s inscription aloud. “Never give up without a fight.”</p><p>“I felt the words befitting for you, my young prince.”</p><p>Zuko lifts his head and looks at his uncle, overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift.</p><p>“When will I be able to visit you, Uncle?”</p><p>“Soon,” Iroh chuckles. “I will make sure of it. You mustn’t spend all your time cooped up in this palace. A trip to the Earth Kingdom is just what you need.” He reaches his hand out to help Zuko stand up before they begin to walk through the garden.</p><p>“What’s there to do in Ba Sing Se, Uncle?” Zuko had only ever heard of the city during discussions of politics and trade matters. It served no interest to a ten-year-old boy what type of tariffs were placed on the city’s exports.</p><p>“Nephew, the question is, what is there not to do?” Iroh laughs at the confusion etched between the young prince’s brows. “When you visit, you will get to have the most delicious tea in all of the four nations. And every night, we’ll go to the ballet or the theater to see the world’s greatest performers.”</p><p>“Are they better than the Ember Island Players?” Zuko asks with a hint of disgust as he recalls the last play he’d seen while on vacation in the Fire Nation city.</p><p>Iroh’s warm laugh reassures him, “Yes, much better.”</p><p>“Can I leave with you now?”</p><p>“No, I’m afraid I must go on my own.” Seeing Zuko’s downcast expression, Iroh places a hand on his shoulder. “Go have fun with your sister and cousin, and then all three of you will come see me soon.”</p><p>“Okay, Uncle,” he responds with understanding and his chins lifts with the knowledge that he will see his uncle again.</p><p>Lady Ursa joins them in the gardens, greeting Iroh before turning to her son, “Zuko, the ball is starting soon. Come, before your father gets upset.”</p><p>Zuko nods, giving a tight hug to his Uncle before walking with his mother towards the palace’s ballroom.</p>
<hr/><p>The Fire Nations aristocrats gather throughout the ballroom, partaking in conversations on the most frivolous of subjects. They drink and dance, their necks adorned with the golden jewelry and the finest fabrics are draped across their bodies.</p><p>Prince Zuko dances with his mother, careful not to step on her feet. His sister, Princess Azula, stands in the corner of the room with two of her friends, laughing behind her hand when a woman trips over dress, too intoxicated to notice the eight-year-olds watching her.</p><p>Whereas, Zuko watches his older cousin, Lu Ten, with envy as the eighteen-year-old flirts with pretty girls, kindly asking them to join him on the dance floor. He averts his eyes to find a girl his age looking in his direction, and he can feel his skin flush at the thought of speaking to her.</p><p>At some point into the night, the royal family is called into another room for official photographs to distribute to the public.</p><p>“I’ll race you to the pictures,” Azula says to Zuko before taking off in a sprint.</p><p>He quickly follows, reaching the room’s doorway within a second of her. They enter the room, already warm due to the fireplace on the wall, and see a camera stationed in it. The rest of the royal family follows, and the well-furnished room seems smaller when filled with the presence of the Fire Nation’s most powerful people.</p><p>The photographer makes his way in and arranges the family for their portraits. He takes multiple photos of them together, capturing Fire Lord Ozai's harsh gaze contrasting with the soft smile on his son’s face. Prince Lu Ten is asked to stand out of the photos, as he is no longer a member of the royal line of succession, and he respectfully obliges. As the pictures are taken, the fire roars next to them, seemingly growing with every minute.</p><p>Then, the photographer thanks the royal family for their time and leaves, swiftly closing the door behind him. But as he walked out, his equipment appeared to have knocked over a pitcher next to the fireplace, spilling its contents on the floor without his notice. Lu Ten sees this and reaches to pick up the pitcher, but instead of finding water, the scent of gasoline fills his nostrils.</p><p>Immediately, he races towards the door to find it locked from the outside. The fire spreads. Shouts and footsteps echo down the hallway, and the royal family screams back, pleading for help.</p><p>Lady Ursa searches for water to put the fire out while the Fire Lord attempts to break down the door. Prince Zuko reaches for his sister’s hand as the room continues to fill with smoke, the wooden floorboards going up in flames.</p><p>Fear is present on her face, and Zuko wonders if this is the first time she’s ever been truly scared before. Azula runs to the door, trying to distance herself from the flames, but they continue to edge closer.</p><p>He can now hear his mother’s coughs. Zuko prays to Agni above that those won’t be her last breaths, but he finds himself unable to turn around and look at her body, for fear that the flames and smoke have already overtaken her.</p><p>The door finally breaks down and the family begins to escape into the hall. Zuko watches as his father climbs out the doorway first, and Lu Ten helps Azula out before turning back to aide his other cousin.</p><p>The younger prince rushes to the door, but stumbles on a broken floorboard, his body plummeting towards the flames. He hears voices coming closer to the room, but any sounds are drowned out by the scream that pierces his ears. As his vision tunnels and an unbearable pain spreads across the left side of his face, Zuko can’t help but wonder if the scream comes from his own throat.</p><p>The room goes dark before he finds an answer.</p>
<hr/><p>News travels quickly, and soon everyone in the four nations know of the loss of the Fire Nation royal family.</p><p>A particular tea shop in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se sits in silence, respecting their most frequent patron as he mourns the deaths of all those he held dear.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm sorry, this chapter is really sad. However, it is important to the plot, so it had to be done.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rumors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Once again, I apologize for the previous chapter. It pained me to kill off Azula, but, unfortunately, the plot required it. If anyone has alternatives, I would be glad to consider them.</p><p>I wanted to post this chapter alongside the prologue to introduce the actual plot to you, rather than just background. This week has been pretty rough, but I've been trying to write this story for a while, so I pushed ahead and got the first chapter done and more should come soon. </p><p>I hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ten years have passed since the aristocrats of the Fire Nation were killed at the hands of revolutionaries, yet the people of the country are still as hungry as ever. </p><p>Though most of them were not fond of Fire Lord Ozai, they held sympathy towards his children, and many were shocked to hear they had been killed too the night the palace was raided. The deaths were hailed as a tragedy, perhaps doing the exact opposite of what the rebels has intended.</p><p>The leaders of the rebel group, Shinu and Zhao, swiftly took over the capitol, assuring the people of the Fire Nation a new dawn, a promising future just over the horizon. Their promises rang as empty as the stomachs of the people in the nation.</p><p>Katara was no stranger to hunger. She and her brother, Sokka, were familiar with the feeling even before the revolution occurred. And it was a feeling they were willing to do anything to get rid of.</p><p>Stealing bread was the beginning, Sokka distracting strangers while she swiftly grabbed a loaf. Even at a young age, she insisted on stealing from only those they knew had money to spare, never the people that were struggling along with them. As the siblings grew older, their cons became more intricate. They sometimes adorned costumes and played different characters throughout parts of the city, collecting supplies to bring back to their small apartment or to share with other children and teenagers stranded in the slums of Caldera.</p><p>Years were spent refining their techniques. The two siblings began to pride themselves in their ability to deceive, tricking those that managed to reap the benefits of the nation's political and social unrest. Gold pieces flowed in with every lie they told, and Katara knew that as long as she had her brother by her side, the two of them would be able to remain afloat. </p><p>Their work wasn’t always successful. Two years prior, though he was the mastermind behind their schemes and already eighteen years old, Sokka had slipped up when he encountered Suki, a stunning heiress from the Earth Kingdom. He’d been speaking to her for weeks while she was on a trip to the Fire Nation, flirting with her while donning a beard and the name Wang. He told Katara that he was simply trying to gain Suki’s trust to convince her to give them money, but the way he wistfully sighed when speaking about Suki told her otherwise.</p><p>It was no surprise when on the last day of Suki’s trip, Sokka found himself unable to steal money from her. What did come as a surprise was when Suki handed it over to him with a wink, whispering in his ear, “Thank you for the lovely evenings.” Katara recalls the dumbstruck look when he came home, pockets full of money and a head clear of thoughts, excepting those about an Earth Kingdom girl with dark eyes and auburn hair.</p><p>Suki’s actions were not lost on Katara either. The young woman knew that the other people they had deceived would not be so forgiving if they ever found out who she and Sokka really were. As more authorities appear within the city limits and borders close, she can feel the walls caving in on them. And with ears listening just behind those walls, it’s only a matter of time before they get caught.</p><p>Currently, Katara considers this dilemma of theirs while her eyes search through the marketplace, looking for anything that may be of use. A scarlet fabric draws her to a stall, and she reaches out, slipping the cheap satin through her fingers, imagining the disguises that could be worn with it. 
</p><p>After purchasing the fabric, Katara continues to shop, listening to the conversations held by those running the market stalls. Gossip runs wild through these streets, where government patrol officers rarely pass by.</p><p>Her ears latch onto bits of conversations. There are the more pressing matters: another border closed, another relative has gone missing after speaking ill of their new government. And there are the lesser ones, which she hears more often: someone is pregnant and they don’t know who the father is, someone’s purse has gone missing, another apartment or inn is filling with more people than it can accommodate.</p><p>“Iroh just added more money to the reward." This catches Katara’s attention. It’s been long since she’s heard the name of the former fire lord.</p><p>The royal family is only heard of through whispers in the street. Those that speak louder tend to disappear. But this doesn’t stop merchants that claim to have Lady Ursa’s hairpieces, or the old women that reminiscing the luxurious parties of the past while playing pai sho.</p><p>Katara stops at a stall, pretending to examine the prices of the fake jewelry in front of her.</p><p>Another voice replies, “Really? After all this time he’s still searching.”</p><p>“He’s convinced the prince is out there. A body was never found, you know. There’s a small chance its true.”</p><p>“Well, what’s the reward now?”</p><p>“20,000 gold pieces.”</p><p>“20,000?” Shock is dripping from the second person’s voice, “I might have to find the prince myself, if that’s the case.”</p><p>“Well, good luck with that and making it to Ba Sing Se. Even if you found the prince, you would never be able to do it without papers. You’d be arrested immediately, and no amount of money is worth that risk.”</p><p>Something in Katara can’t help but disagree. The man's words call out to her, and the challenge they carry ignites a fire deep in her bones.</p>
<hr/><p>
Katara's shoulders are straightened with a newfound sense of purpose as she continues to shop, listening for more information on the reward for the prince. Other voices confirm the same gossip, the former Fire Lord has been sending out fliers throughout the other three nations, offering money for the return of his nephew. As the years go by, the reward only grows, but it’s only a matter of time before the elderly man gives up hope.</p><p>News of it has finally reached the Fire Nation through travelers sneaking in the fliers. And someone needs to act soon, before the authorities become aware too.</p><p>Possibilities fly through Katara’s head as she thinks of what she and Sokka could do with so much money.</p><p>She buys some food, using the money she and Sokka had been given from various jobs. Besides scamming money from the wealthy, she and her brother happened to be good at forging documents, a skill that’s proven useful to those that live in the shadier parts of Caldera.</p><p>Just as she purchases rice, her attention drifts to the stall next to her, where the merchant and customer are arguing over a dagger.</p><p>“I’m not paying that much for it,” the customer says, gruffly brushing the elderly man off. “If you’d drop the price, I’d be willing to consider.”</p><p>The merchant's eyes widen with distain, “Lower the price. How dare you insult me?" He drops his voice slightly, but its still carries the same dramatic tone, "This blade once belonged to Prince Zuko.”</p><p>Katara inhales sharply. She's aware the merchant is lying, simply using a scheme to sell the dagger, but it almost feels like fate. The spirits must be giving her a sign, reaffirming the plan she’d begun formulating in her head since she had heard the rumors about the reward.</p><p>“Sure, like I believe that for a second.” The man turns away, leaving the merchant behind.</p><p>Katara nonchalantly walks over to the stall, idly looking the items on the table. Most of it was useless jewelry, pottery, and ornamental figurines. She reaches the dagger and stops to examine is hilt and the words etched into its blade. The blade is stunning, and she almost convinces herself that it could’ve belonged to the young prince, which only makes it easier for her to do what comes next.</p><p>She looks up at the old man before her, wearing her sweetest smile, “Hi, I’m interested in buying this dagger. How much will it be?”</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Katara comes home from the market to find Sokka already waiting for her in their small, studio apartment. She places the bags down on the counter before turning to look at him.</p><p>“Have you heard the news Sokka?”</p><p>He looks up from the book in his lap, “What news? Don’t tell me that the butcher closed down.”</p><p>“No,” she rolls her eyes. “Is that all you care about? Actually, don't answer that. Anyway, I’m talking about the latest gossip around the city. Apparently, the old fire lord is still looking for his nephew, and he’s willing to pay a lot to get him back.”</p><p>“Fire Lord Iroh? The one in the Earth Kingdom?”</p><p>She nods as Sokka continues to process the information.</p><p>“How much are they saying he’ll pay?”</p><p>“20,000 gold pieces,” Katara laughs when Sokka’s mouth drops.</p><p>“Close your mouth before it catches flies.”</p><p>His mouth closes, but confusion is still clear on his face, “He wants to give that much money out for a prince that’s dead?”</p><p>“Well, the prince doesn’t have to be dead.”</p><p>“Please, Katara, there’s no way he survived the fire or the siege afterwards.”</p><p>“Yes, we know that, but Iroh doesn’t. What if we found someone that could play the role of prince and bring him to Ba Sing Se. We convince Iroh, whose memory will already be clouded by nostalgia, that it’s Zuko. Then we get paid and run before ever have time to reconsider,” Katara tells him, almost embarrassed at how insane her thoughts sound aloud. </p><p>&gt;p&gt;The silence that fills the room after only makes her more unsure. She and Sokka had pulled many stunts, but this was different than anything they'd ever considered before. She rubs her slick palms against her trousers, growing anxious she waits for Sokka to respond.</p><p>“This would be big, bigger than anything we’ve ever done,” he says slowly, and she nods her head, silently agreeing. “But the reward would also be bigger than anything we’ve ever gotten. If we can pull this off, we’ll go down in history.” He smiles widely at his younger sister, “Okay, so how are we going to do this?”</p><p>Katara exhales in relief before a smirk settles on her lips. She reaches down into her bag to find the pearl handled dagger, brandishing it in the air. “First, we need to find our prince. I have something to return to him.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading. I'm sure Anastasia is near to your hearts as well, so if there is anything has anything you particularly enjoy or dislike about my interpretation or things you  would like to see in the future, please let me know! I also apologize for any mistakes, this was not beta-read.</p><p>Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Boy with No Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone, sorry this is a bit later than I wanted it to be, but I spent the last couple weeks doing other work, so this got pushed to the side. I’m going to try for one chapter a week, but I can’t really guarantee anything.</p><p>Also, for clarification, this fic will have elements from both the musical and the movie, but most of the dialogue and writing will be original. This is set in the Avatar universe, but with no bending.</p><p>If you’ve been wondering what Zuko’s been up to, here you go :)</p><p>**Oh, and there’s some cursing in this but not much. They’re adults, so I feel it’s appropriate.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lee hadn’t meant to start the fire.</p><p>He told this to the shop's owner, his voice pleading as he handed over his apron. The owner didn’t listen.</p><p>He wasn’t lying to the owner when he said it was an accident and that he wouldn’t let it happen again. It was already his third job of the season, so he had been trying his hardest to keep it. But it seemed the spirits had something else in store for him when he came into work that morning.</p><p>His shift began as it normally does, with the usual crowd of elderly women came to sit and gossip in the small teashop. He refilled their tea, doing his best to keep a scowl off his face. The nicer ladies sometimes gave him tips, asking if he would like to meet their granddaughters when he was free.</p><p>Nothing unusual happened until two men came in, just before noon. The red of their uniforms marked them as government officers, under the new reign of Shinu and Zhao. Lee did his best to ignore them and continue making orders, but the gaze burning into the left side of his face distracted him.</p><p>Lee was no stranger to the sensation that came when someone stared at his eye. When he woke up in an orphanage, roughly eleven or twelve years old, the other children were seething with curiosity, begging him to tell them how he got it. The only issue was that he didn’t remember how it happened. In fact, he didn’t remember anything at all.</p><p>The orphanage workers had given him new clothes and a name, telling him that they had found in him the street, eye mangled as he repeatedly mumbled about Ba Sing Se. Any further questions were met with confusion from the young boy, who could only recall that he wanted to go to the Earth Kingdom’s capitol. The workers treated him as best they could, but there was only so much they could do. The scar would remain forever.</p><p>As Lee grew older, he found that the staring would last a minute or so. That gave people enough time to get over their initial disgust and make theories before they realize they’re being rude. Yet, the officer’s eyes hadn’t seemed to leave his face since he entered.</p><p>He looked up to see the shorter officer, the one who had been staring, say something to his companion. Though Lee’s hearing was better than most, making up for his impaired sight in his left eye, he couldn’t make out what was said. But it was clear that they had been discussing him.</p><p>He gulped. Had he unknowingly committed a crime? Were they trying to recruit him for the military? He was of age and relatively fit, but he had hoped that his visual impairment may turn away army recruiters. He had no intention to die for a country that had only brought him sorrow.</p><p>He snuck another glance at the officers, just to accidentally make direct contact with their eyes. Flustered, he didn’t want to seem suspicious, so he returned his attention to the tea and poured it with haste.</p><p>He took ahold of the tray, silently asking for his misery to end, before he saw something orange out the corner of his right eye. Looking down, he was startled to find that his sleeve had caught fire from the stove.</p><p>“Fuck,” he hissed, trying to smother the flames. As the fire spread onto the counter, Lee’s panic rose. His throat began to close, fear overtaking him, trapping him in place. The fire was still small, but he suddenly felt young again, waking up covered in sweat, haunted by visions of being surrounded by flames, smoke entering his lungs. Maybe hearing about what happened to the royal family had left an impression on him, causing him to subconsciously develop a phobia.</p><p>A clatter forced him out of his thoughts. He had dropped the tray on the ground, the glass shattering and the liquid spilling onto the floor. Deciding that his fear of losing his job far outweighed his fear of fire, Lee searched for a way to suppress the flames. While he ran quickly to get a pail of water from the other side of the kitchen, the shop’s owner entered the storefront to see where the smell of smoke was coming from.</p><p>With a splash of water, Lee put out the flames. Yet, scorch marks remained on the counter, a reminder of what had happened. Heat crept up his neck when he felt the eyes of every customer in the shop on him, and when he turned around, he saw that the owner had been watching too.</p><p>Lee’s mouth went dry and he gulped before stumbling out an apology, “I’m really sorry, Mr. Nakano.”</p><p>Unfortunately, sorry wasn’t enough.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Lee understands the old man’s complaints that his shop had been disgraced in front of government officers because of him, but he couldn’t help but feel somewhat bitter as he makes his way home with no money, no food, and no hope for the future.</p><p>He’d been lucky to find more than one job in the winter alone. He doubts that he’ll get lucky again anytime soon.</p><p>He still remembers the beginnings of the Fire Nation’s new government. It boasted that it would be better than the last, bringing equality to the people of the nation. Lee can’t remember anything about life under royalty, but he can’t imagine that this is much better. It appears that the government and military grow stronger every day, while the citizens of the country are left to fend for themselves.</p><p>Shinu’s death certainly hadn’t helped, either. He had seemed more invested in the people than his partner Zhao, but they will never know what may have been because he died only a few years after the revolution began. His partner, Zhao took over, wielding an iron fist to those that opposed his rule.</p><p>Lee returns to run down apartment, greeted by darkness when he unlocks the door. There was no one to keep it warm while he was gone, no one to talk to when he came home. His footsteps echo in the silence as he searches for a something to eat.</p><p>He sighs when he sees that just one can of beans remains in his cupboard. Lee thinks back to the stack of coin he has hidden away under a floorboard in his bedroom. He knows he should spend it on food, at least until he finds new work.</p><p>But a small part of him refuses. He’d been saving that money since he was a teenager, setting aside a small portion of his income in the hope that it would be enough to take him to Ba Sing Se. For years, he let himself hold onto the fantasy that one day he would find his family there, with the Earth Kingdom’s greens all around as he is welcomed into warm arms that have been waiting for him since he went missing.</p><p>As Lee got older, he let go of his dreams. He could barely feed himself, much less an entire family. Not to mention, who knows why’d been speaking about the city. His features were like that of others born to the Fire Nation, there’s a very slim chance his family hailed from the Earth Kingdom. Yet, Lee couldn’t bring himself to spend the money. He kept adding onto the pile, telling himself it was for a rainy day, but his heart knew that wasn’t the truth.</p><p>Yet with no job, friends, or significant other, there is no reason for him to stay in the Fire Nation. Maybe his destiny remains outside of this country. For a second, Lee gives himself the chance to hope. Maybe there is still someone out there looking for him, someone who can call him family, who can tell him about his past. With a mind of their own, his feet carry him to his bedroom. His fingers pry up the floorboard, where he’s met with bags of coin.</p><p>Lee grabs a fistful of gold pieces, letting the cold metal brush against his palm. He sifts through the coin; It should be enough to get him documents and a ticket to the Earth Kingdom. More rational thoughts come to support his idea: there will be job opportunities there, tensions are rising in the Fire Nation and he wants to avoid army enlistment or getting caught in a civil war.</p><p>Before there is time for doubt to set in, Lee grabs the money and hides it in his coat, ready to see who he can find to help him get out of the country as soon as possible. The rest of his future may be unclear, but Lee wants to know for certain whether the key to his past lies in Ba Sing Se.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
“Alright, who’s next,” Sokka’s voice rings through the abandoned theater. Pursuit of the arts was long gone in the city’s poorer areas, so they had full reign of the building.</p><p>A man steps into the room, and the first thing the siblings notice is how incredibly short he is. Katara tries her best to hide her wince. The royal family was somewhat known for producing tall, handsome men, their stature that expected from one that could sit on the throne. Though Prince Zuko had never been given the chance to grow to his full height, this man couldn’t be much taller than the prince was when he went missing.</p><p>Katara swallows her worries and hands him the script, hoping that his acting would be good enough to make up for the height issue.</p><p>It doesn’t.</p><p>More men come into the room, trying their chance at being the Prince. Some of them Sokka’s friends, others were in need of money or just wanted to flirt with Katara. Her jaw hurt from the way she clenched it when one man insisted on showing off his muscles to her every two seconds as he read his lines.</p><p>After Katara shoves the last man out the door for making a crude comment about her under his breath, she turns back to her brother.</p><p>“Well, that could’ve gone better,” he says to her from his seat.</p><p>She glares at him, but it holds less anger than usual because she knows he’s right. Katara and Sokka worked alone for a reason, there weren’t any other people nearby who could even remotely act. Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door.</p><p>Fear strikes Sokka’s face, “Fuck, someone ratted us out. I knew you shouldn’t have been so mean to that one guy.”</p><p>She rolls her eyes, “Well, don’t just stand there. Hide.” He runs backstage, while she stands behind the curtain, one eye peeking to see who’s walking in.</p><p>“Excuse me, I’m looking for someone named Sokka. I was told he’d be here,” a deep, raspy voice calls out from the theater’s entrance. As he walks further in, the light reveals him to the con artist, and she sighs with relief.</p><p>Certain he isn’t an officer, she steps out from her hiding spot to see that Sokka has joined her in the light of the stage. Sokka replies, “What do you want?”</p><p>“Exit papers.” The man steps closer to them and Katara’s breath hitches slightly when she takes sin his full appearance. He’s tall, with pale skin, high cheekbones, and hair dark as dark as the wings of a crow. The scar on his face only adds to his beauty, making him appear a man of great mystery. If someone told her he was a descendant of royalty, she’d believe them.</p><p>“Exit papers are expensive,” she hears her brother say from beside her.</p><p>“I’ve got the money,” the man answers stiffly. He looks towards Katara, eyebrow raised, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s rude to stare?”</p><p>Katara would have apologized if it weren’t for his tone. Instead, her eyes narrow and she crosses her arms, “My mother is dead.”</p><p>He has the decency to look abashed. “I think mine is too,” confusion briefly flits across his face before she can respond. His eyes return to Sokka, “That’s why I need the papers, I’m looking to find my family in Ba Sing Se.”</p><p>She and her brother exchange a glance. “Ba Sing Se? We’re thinking about going there too. What family are you trying to meet with,” Sokka asks.</p><p>The other man clears his throat, “I’m not sure. Ten years ago, I woke up in an orphanage with the name Lee and no memories of anything before that. The only clue I have about my life is that when I was found, I kept saying I wanted to go to Ba Sing Se.” His words run together, like he hasn’t said them aloud before. But they build an interesting proposal for Katara.</p><p>Gesturing between herself and her brother, she asks, “May we speak for one second?” She doesn’t look for his response before pulling Sokka to the side.</p><p>“Are you thinking what I’m thinking,” she whispers to him.</p><p>“That it happens to be a really big coincidence that a guy with no memory of anything before ten years ago wants to go to Ba Sing Se, the city where the uncle of the prince that went missing ten years ago happens to live.”</p><p>“Exactly, this is too big of an opportunity to pass up. The story has been practically thrown into our hands. He certainly looks the part.”</p><p>Sokka smirks, “Of course you would know. All those hours you used to spend staring at pictures of the prince.” She feels a blush spread across her cheeks and she resists the urge to shove him. “But what about the scar? I don’t remember the prince having that.”</p><p>She shrugs, “The palace was set on fire. I’m not sure how that guy got his scar, but its not that hard to believe that the prince would have a burn scar.”</p><p>“Huh, it can’t really be that easy. I mean, he practically fell into our hands.”</p><p>“Well,” she turns back to their guest, who is absentmindedly looking around the theater, “we have to get him to agree first.”</p><p>Clearing her throat, Katara steps towards him, “I’m Katara, Sokka’s sister,” she extends her hand to him, and he cautiously takes it, stating his name, “Lee.”</p><p>“We have three tickets to Ba Sing Se,” the corner of Lee’s lips turns up until she continues, “but the last one is reserved for Prince Zuko.”</p><p>He eyes them carefully, “The dead prince?”</p><p>“The <em>missing</em> prince,” Sokka corrects him.</p><p>Katara picks up after him, delicately deciding her words, “Who was last seen ten years ago, and who happens to have a relative in Ba Sing Se, and who happens to look a lot like you.”</p><p>“You’re crazy.” Lee starts to back away, looking between the siblings for a shred of sanity.</p><p>“And we’re the only people that can get you to the Earth Kingdom.” His walking stops. Inwardly Katara smiles, knowing that she may have him trapped.</p><p>He considers them for a moment, “Do you really believe that <em>I’m</em> the prince?”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter what we believe. We’re just saying that you’re looking for your family and so is Fire Lord Iroh, and a lot of things match between your stories. If you turn out to be his nephew, then great, happy ending for everyone. If you don’t, it was an honest mistake and you’re still in the Ba Sing Se and we’re out of here,” Sokka explains to him. Lee’s body language softens as he thinks it through, brow furrowed in concentration.</p><p>His response is exactly what Katara expects, and she attempts to cover up her satisfaction when the words leave his lips. “Okay, I’ll do it.”</p><p>A grin forms on Sokka’s face and he bows to the man in front of him before turning towards his sister, gesturing to Lee with a mock formality, “May I present to you, the Crown Prince Zuko of Caldera.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to anyone that has commented, left kudos, or subscribed. Your support is greatly appreciated!!</p><p>I also apologize for any mistakes.</p><p>The plot picks up after this point and we get into the romance aspect of it, so it should be fun.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Things Almost Remembered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to everyone who's been supporting this story. It means a lot to me, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Premier Zhao looks down upon his empire from his office in the Caldera. Crimson flags line the streets, carrying the emblem of the Fire Nation’s newest era. Pride swells in his chest as he takes in the beauty of his nation.</p><p>The days of revolution are gone, and the promises made must be enacted. A new nation requires a strong hand to guys it towards a great future and away from destruction. Power does not favor the weak, so Zhao shows no mercy towards neither his enemies nor his own people. Greatness does not come without sacrifice, and hard decisions must be made to keep their nation form falling into chaos. His partner, Shinu, had been unable to understand this principle. With him gone, Zhao could fulfill his rightful duty to bring success to his people and share that success with all those outside of the Fire Nation.</p><p>To ensure his authority, Zhao kept tabs on his citizens, making sure their ideas did not pose a threat to all that he had accomplished. He would not let them threaten his safety as they did with Shinu. A show of force is necessary to keep dissenters at bay, and many men are willing to volunteer when the only alternative is providing for the nation through labor camps in the nation’s hottest areas.</p><p>The Premier has found that whispers are frequent, carried across corridors and alleyways, and picked up by ears hidden in the walls. Some are more pressing than others, but all will be attended to.</p><p>Gossip about the royal family was not new, but the stories that persist tend to involve the youngest prince. It angers him to know that news of a reward had spread to the slums. Instead of following his orders and working their way up in rank, proving themselves worthy citizens of his empire, the people that inhibit those streets hold onto the false hope of a reward. He does not hide his distain when his officers report the rumors about the possibility that the prince still lives.</p><p>He knows they are untrue. He watched his brothers in revolution aim their guns and spread flames across the palace. There is no chance any member of the family survived.</p><p>But a rumor does not have to be true to be dangerous. Even the notion of the prince holds the power to bring together those that miss the days of the old government. Those that are blind to the shame the royal family had placed upon their country. Zhao would make them see reason eventually, but first he must dispel the harmful ideas that the senile Lord Iroh has been spreading across the four nations.</p><p>Zhao hears a knock on his office door, alerting him that the officers who requested to meet him had arrived.</p><p>“Enter.”</p><p>The door slides open to reveal two of his officers. They report that on their rounds they spotted with a striking resemblance to the prince. The tea server caught their attention, his large scar being a source of mystery to them as they compared his features to the members of the royal family. Though they doubted anything would come of it, they felt it imperative to tell their commander about him, in case a rebel group attempts to use him or someone else to fuel their cause.</p><p>“Find him,” Zhao orders. “Make sure he isn’t causing any trouble. If he is, you know what to do.”</p><p>“Yes, sir,” the officers bow before returning to their work.</p><p>Zhao was ushering the Fire Nation into a new age of glory. Gone were the corrupt politicians, caring more about their glamour than the efficiency of their country. He would bring honor to his nation, and he would not let mere rumors stop him. Flames were catching across his country and they must be put out before they cause his empire to burn.</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Stand up straighter.”</p><p>Lee walks across the theater’s stage, rolling his eyes as Sokka instructs him, but he puts his shoulders back and points his chin up. He passes the chalkboard and various sets of tables and chairs that they had found in storage behind the stage, which now serves as their makeshift academy for the ways of royalty.</p><p>He stops before Sokka, sinking into a deep bow, his fist placed vertically under his open palm. The other boy looks up from the books they’d collected on the history of the Fire Nation and its royal families.</p><p>“Who’s your grandfather, who served as Fire Lord before Iroh?”</p><p>“Azulon.”</p><p>“Your great grandfather on your mother’s side?”</p><p>“Roku.”</p><p>“And your best friend?” Sokka asks next, his grin sly as he tries to stump Lee.</p><p>“My sister, Azula.” Lee cringes slightly, the answer feeling wrong on his tongue, but he doesn’t remember any of the books he read stating who the young prince’s friends were.</p><p>“Wrong.” Katara says, not even looking up from the sewing machine she set up at a small table a few yards away. “It was Kai, a noble boy Prince Zuko went to school with.” It satisfies her to know that the time she spent poring over periodicals on the prince and his friends as a child has proven to be of some use, despite Sokka’s teasing when they were younger.</p><p>Lee shrugs his shoulders, “Alright, my best friend was named Kai. Can we be done for the day?”</p><p>“Not until we practice some more,” Sokka replies, crossing the stage to stand in front of the chalkboard that now carries the entire royal family tree. He glaces over it, before sighing, “We can go over the rest of the family later. Why don’t we focus on something else for now?” His hand rests on his chin for a second before an idea comes to him, “The palace used to throw balls; Can you dance?”</p><p>Unsurprising to Sokka, Lee shakes his head. “Katara, are you done yet?”</p><p>“Just about finished,” she says to her brother, eyeing the fabric and machine with precision. Seconds later, she looks up, and announces that she’s done. Sokka leaves to get more materials, while she stands in front of Lee.</p><p>Katara guides his left hand to her waist and fits her own into his right hand. Plenty of space remains between them, but she smirks to see that the tips of Lee’s ears are slightly red. He clears his throat, “Do you even know how to dance formally?”</p><p>She scoffs, “Of course I know how to dance. I’ve probably been to more high-class parties than you can imagine.”</p><p>He presses closer to her. Katara is suddenly aware of his warm breath fanning across her ear, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “Hm, that’s not how you should speak to a prince, now is it?”</p><p>“Pay attention, or else I’m going to step on your feet.”</p><p>There’s no music to accompany their waltz, but they find their rhythm, stepping back and forth across the wooden stage. Katara counts under her breath, keeping them steady as the minutes pass by. Lee’s hand relaxes in hers, and even the flicker of a smile can be seen of his face.</p><p>Eventually, she moves on to more complicated dances, quickening their pace. He even manages to dip her, his hand on the small of her back keeping her from falling to the floor. Despite the boy’s awkwardness, she’s noticed that he acts well, settling into the role of the prince like it’s a second skin.</p><p>Around the end of their dance lessons, Sokka re-enters the auditorium with newspapers and magazines. He looks to Lee, then back at the chalkboard, “Alright, let’s go through this again.”</p>
<hr/><p>On the floor of Sokka and Katara’s apartment, Lee stares at the ceiling, desparately trying to rest for the night, yet sleep continues to avert him. Unable to pay his own rent, he’d accepted the siblings offer to live with them until they leave the country. They’re good company, but he doesn’t want to disturb them with the issues regarding his sleep schedule. He steps outside, trying his best to avoid the creaking floorboards that would wake up his new roommates.</p><p>The night air is brisk as he settles onto a bench outside of the apartment building. A few minutes later, he hears the door open behind him and sees Katara step out.</p><p>“What are you doing out here?” He notices the red spreading across her nose and cheeks as his breath turns white before him. She wraps her arms around herself, closing her coat before sitting beside him.</p><p>“I could ask the same of you.”</p><p>“I’m enjoying the night life. We’re leaving in a few days, and I want to savor as much of it as I can.” Lee replies sarcastically, but there is an underlying truth to his statement. As far as he knows, he’s never been outside of the Fire Nation before, and in a less than a week, he’ll never return to it.</p><p>Katara laughs in response, but it lacks humor. “I guess I’m not the only one that Caldera still has a hold on. This city has left us with nothing. It’s forced us to learn how to thrive in the shadows or die trying, yet I still can’t bring myself to hate it.”</p><p>Her blue eyes pan out into the deserted streets, which carry the ghosts of those who pass through during the daytime. “My parents died when we were young. They moved here to find work, and disease went through our village taking them in the process.”</p><p>Lee silently watches Katara rest her fingers against the blue necklace sitting around her neck, one he had noticed was a permanent fixture in her daily ensemble. He does not offer her pity or pry further, he simply sits and waits, ready to listen if she wants to continue. “They liked to travel, wanting to go beyond the Water Tribes they grew up in. It’s a bit ironic that Sokka and I have been stuck here forever.</p><p>After they were gone, the streets had to raise us. The people lent a hand, taking in all the orphans whose parents hadn’t survived the winter. Sokka and I shared a room with ten other kids, all of us with barely anything more than each other.”</p><p>Lee thinks back to his experience as an orphan, trying to make a family out of the children that surrounded him, the only thing that they had in common being that they had all lost everything. For years, he at least held onto the hope that his family was still out there, searching for him. Katara and Sokka would never get theirs’ back.</p><p>“But we made it work,” she carries on. “We worked on our reading skills from taking menus at shops and going to every library or bookstore we had access to. I learned how to sew and cook, and when we needed it, we learned how to lie. The world may have been cruel to us, but we weren’t going to go down without a fight.”</p><p>Silence settles between them, and they hear a cat’s hiss from one of the alleyways nearby.</p><p>Katara points to the tall lamp that illuminates the end of the street, “I had my first kiss there.”</p><p>“Right there?”</p><p>“That exact spot,” she grins. “I was fourteen and his name was Jet. Looking back on it, it wasn’t the best, but at the time, it was the greatest thing I’d ever experienced,” her face lights up as she laughs at the memory. Jet was a few years older than her, carrying himself with confidence that she couldn’t help but be attracted to. When they bonded over the shared loss of their parents, she knew she had fallen hopelessly in love. But as with many adolescent relationships, it didn’t last long, and Jet and his friends left the city searching for a cause to dedicate themselves to.</p><p>Seeing the blissful look on Katara’s face, a feeling settles in Lee’s stomach that he can’t quite recognize. Pushing it aside, he thinks back to his own first kiss. It’d been with a girl named Sara. Chaste and awkward, they had to avoid getting caught by the caregivers. It wasn’t anything worth thinking back to often. He’d spent so many years trying to recover the memories he lost, he never focusing on the ones he had.</p><p>Katara doesn’t seem affected by Lee’s lack of input. He’d always been somewhat quiet, but fortunately she had no problems with carrying their conversation. “It’s funny when you’ve been in one place for so long, it’s hard to imagine yourself outside of it. But I think it’s finally time to go. Maybe Ba Sing Se will be kinder to us,” her bright eyes meet his, and he suddenly aware that he’s included in <em>‘us.’</em></p><p>“I sure hope so.”</p><p>“You’ll find your family, Lee. I’m sure of it.” Her optimism tugs of his heart, making him hope that this trip will lead him to his true home.</p><p>Katara reaches into her coat and pulls a pearl-handled dagger. She hands it to Lee, his mouth opening slightly at the familiarity of the hilt in his hand. “You’ve been progressing pretty well, so to help stay in character, I thought I should give this to you.”</p><p>“Thank you, Katara,” his voice is barely above a whisper as he stares in awe at the stunning weapon.</p><p>“Don’t thank me yet, we have to make it to Ba Sing Se first.” She goes back inside the building, leaving Lee with only the moon as his companion.</p>
<hr/><p>Later that night, Lee turns in his slumber, chasing after memories of grand balls and silk robes. The images flee as quickly as they come.</p><p>He can almost see it clearly now. A song plays in the distance, the notes obscured and faded by time. He’s in a large room that feels familiar, though he is certain that he has never been in it before. People chatter nearby and, next to three young girls, their dark hair in intricate styles as they talk amongst each other.</p><p>His eyes sweep across the large room, crowded with people dancing across it. <em>One-two-three, one-two-three</em>, he identifies the rhythm, thinking of Katara, and how it would feel for her to guide him across the polished floors. But he is disappointed to find that she and her brother are nowhere to be found in a sea of pale skin and silky black hair.</p><p>A teenage boy dancing with a pretty girl looks at Lee, smirking somewhat before returning his attention to his partner. Confused, the dream offers him no help, simply moving his body along the floor, towards a woman. She smiles down at him, saying something in his ear. Her words are distorted but Lee still feels himself beam back at her with a sense of happiness that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. His arms wrap around the woman, his head inches below her chin, and she returns his embrace.</p><p>Lee basks in the warmth of her touch before the heat increases and flames come to greet him, smoke and screams infiltrating his dreams.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for reading :) Sorry if there are any mistakes or inconsistencies, I tend not to catch them all before I post, but I'm trying my best.</p><p>Here's some extra notes regarding choices I made in this fic, these aren't necessary to read, but you can if you want:</p><p>- As you can tell, this fic follows the Broadway musical more than the movie, due to both personal preference and want for realism (incorporating magic into such a heavy plotline always felt like a stretch). Anastasia is set during the rise of the Soviet Union and the villain in the stage show is a Soviet officer that falls for Anya. However, that didn't feel right for this adaptation, so instead I chose to make the villain Zhao and portray him as a power hungry dictactor, somewhat inspired by Stalin. Zhao and Shinu's relationship mimics Stalin's and Lenin's in an oversimplified way. I just want to make it clear that this work is still very much fiction, so I took artistic liberties, and do not mean to make a mockery of anything that happened in the USSR.</p><p>-Additionally, Zuko/Lee and Anya's personalities are /very/ different. In Anastasia, Anya truly tries to convince herself that she is the lost princess because she doesn't feel comfortable with lying. During her interactions with Vlad and Dmitry, they treat directly as if she is the lost princess, even though they don't believe it, and she plays along with them. Personally, I can't see Zuko acting that way, and it likely would've felt out of character for readers too, so I simply wrote him as a man willing to take any opportunity he can to find his old family.</p><p>If you have anymore questions or thoughts, I'd love to hear them!!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Stay, I Pray You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you sooo much to anyone that's been reading and interacting with this story. It means more than you could ever know. I would like to give a special thanks to @zuzu.tara on instagram for posting this under their recommendations!!</p><p>This chapter covers one of my favorite songs from the musical, "Stay, I Pray You." If you aren't familiar with the show, it's this haunting ballad about the characters having to leave Russia behind. I tried to do it justice, but I still suggest listening to the song if you can.</p><p>Please enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Though Katara and Sokka had never considered themselves early risers, their minds are alert as they stand in the station, with only fifteen minutes left until the train is intended to arrive. The duo, with the new addition of Lee, are once again surrounded by aristocrats and intellectuals. But rather than telling intricate lies to con the money out of these people, they now stand shoulder to shoulder, their differences in wealth meaning nothing as they each hope for a way out.</p><p>Lee grips his passport tightly, his own heartbeat drowning out the soft chatter of the station. Sokka had handed his new documents to him, just before looking over his shared apartment for the last time. An unspoken message was shared between the siblings and their companion as they picked up their suitcases and shut the door; There is no turning back. Weeks of preparation, names and customs memorized, clothes sewn, money earned, documents forged, would all be put to use the moment they step onto the train. One false step could land them in jail. Or worse.</p><p>Lee looks around, assessing the other people that have come to flee. Gone is the cool air that lingers during Fire Nation nights. As the sun rises, warmth encompasses them, as if the nation is giving them a final embrace, begging them to stay.</p><p>While looking at his fellow travelers, Lee comes across a dark-skinned man with sharp features and an air of regalness. Something tugs in the back of Lee’s brain, the man evoking a sense of familiarity. Much like the visions that plague his nights, he cannot place it. The older man locks eyes with Lee, who quickly tries to avert his gaze to Katara. Unfortunately, the man begins to walk towards him anyway.</p><p>Lee can feel Sokka still beside him as the man stands before them, pointedly looking at his face. His gaze does not rest on the scar, rather it bores into his eyes, searching for something in them. To Lee's surprise, he lowers his upper body into a respectful bow. “May Angi guide you,” the man vocalizes, quiet but unwavering.</p><p>He blinks in response, unsure of what to say, but the man is upright and walks away within seconds. Dumbfounded, Lee turns to his companions and instead of seeing his confusion reflected on Sokka’s face, he finds excitement.</p><p>The other boy practically bounces as he whispers, “That was Count Piandao. He’s not just an aristocrat and an intellectual, he’s a swordmaster too. He even taught Prince Zuko!” His sigh is wistful before he says, “I used to want to train with him so badly. Imagine how cool I’d be with a sword.”</p><p>“But what does he want with me?”</p><p>Katara crosses her arms, “I’m not sure. But I don’t want him to draw any more attention to us before we reach Ba Sing Se. That’s the last thing we need right now.”</p><p>Tension makes its way into the station, settling over the area like a fog while they wait for the train’s arrival. Located on the top of a hill, the entire crowd looks before the Fire Nation’s capital city, taking in all its beauty and misery before they can never return.</p><p>Lee thinks back to his conversation with Katara out in the street, some nights ago. With only minutes until he departs, he finally understands her words. This country was the only home he’d ever known, how could he leave it behind?</p><p>The Fire Nation’s fields and orchards had provided him with sanctuary from the harsher days in the orphanage or on the street. Even if he truly is from the Earth Kingdom, it can’t be denied that the Fire Nation had raised him. It was engrained into the clothing he wore, the way he spoke, his taste in food, his view of the world. This cursed land had become a part of him that he would never be able to rid of.</p><p>Hearing the train enter the station, Lee glances at the Fire Nation once more. He takes in the light gleaming off the sloped roofs of Caldera. He watches as people begin to flood the streets, ready to begin their days. Under his breath, he utters a prayer for them, a final blessing to his homeland.</p><p>He feels a tug on his sleeve. “It’s time to go,” Katara tells him. Before he can regret his decision, he follows her aboard the train.</p>
<hr/><p>Much like everything else belonging to the Fire Nation, the train’s interior is red. Crimson seats, cherry stained wood, scarlet carpets and curtains. The black and gold accents of the decor do little to balance it out, leaving one's senses completley overwhelmed by the different shades of the primary color.</p><p>“Only a few more stops in the Fire Nation, then a ferry to the Earth Kingdom. From there, we’ll get on another train headed straight for Ba Sing Se. It shouldn’t take more than a week,” Katara explains, sitting in the window seat beside Sokka.</p><p>“We hope.” Lee says dryly from the seat across from her.</p><p>She points her chin up in response, “I refuse to let your bad attitude get to me. I have faith in our abilities.”</p><p>“I don’t have a <em>bad attitude </em>or doubt in your skills,” he retorts, gesturing his hands along with his words,<em> "</em>I’m just being honest. The chances of nothing going wrong are quite as high as we need them to be.”</p><p>Katara opens her mouth, but is cut off by her brother, “If you two are going to just argue the whole time, I’m going to head out,” Sokka points to the compartment’s sliding door. “There’s a ton of rich people on here, so there’s bound to be some good food too.” An idea strikes him, “Oh, maybe, I can get into the engine room and see how this thing runs.” Turning away from them, he hurries out into the hallway, leaving Katara and Lee alone.</p><p>It takes less than ten minutes for Lee to wish he’d insisted on going with Sokka. He’d prepared for the long travels by packing books he’d found during their extensive research on the royal family, but he finds himself unable to focus due to Katara’s incessant foot-tapping.</p><p>“Can you stop that?”</p><p>“Stop what,” she says innocently, glancing up from her own novel. The tapping does not stop.</p><p>She must be punishing him for his comments earlier. “You know what you’re doing.” </p><p>“I’m sorry,” his eyes widen, surprised by her apology, but they narrow as she continues to speak, “I know my beautiful looks can be distracting, but I don’t have any control over that. You just need to work hard on focusing. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Her  smirk and the sparkle in her eyes infuriates him.</p><p>“You-“</p><p>The train slows to a halt, indicating one of the few stops it would make before they finally exit the Fire Nation.</p><p>Lee exhales, “You know what, I’m not going to waste my breath.” He returns to his reading, trying to pay attention to the book on fables he'd found. It told legends of people who could do magic with different elements, and one who mastered them all. Lee would be much further into it, if only Katara would <em>stop tapping her foot.</em></p><p>Just as Katara shifts her feet off the ground and curls them beside her in her seat, giving Lee some peace and quiet, Sokka rushes into their compartment, frantically gathering his things, “Guys, we need to go right now.”</p><p>“What,” Katara questions, though she does not hesitate to grab her suitcase too.</p><p>Sokka pauses to hold up a flyer. It features three headshots, each with an unquestionable likeness to the three people inhabiting the compartment.</p><p>Lee takes in the images, and the large characters underneath them, spelling out ‘WANTED.’ “Shit.”</p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p>After collecting all their things, the three of them head out into the hallway, searching for the nearest exit when they see a man in the hallway, his uniform matching with the rest of the carriage’s interior.</p><p>Lee’s blood runs cold, and he pushes Katara and Sokka in the opposite direction, hissing, “There’s an officer on board. I think I’ve seen him before. We need to get off.” As if the spirits were playing with them, a screech resounds through the carriage and the train begins moving towards its destination. Lee groans internally, but he keeps walking, trying to put distance between them and the officer. Fortunately, they do not come across any other passengers as they quickly make their way through the corridors.</p><p>They come to a stop when they reach back of the carriage, where they stand before the door separating them from the rest of the world. The train has yet to gain full speed, but Lee’s still stomach lurches when Katara pulls the door open.</p><p>“Are we really doing this?”</p><p>“You said it yourself. We have to get off this train, and now’s our only chance,” she responds. Lee looks to Sokka, hoping that he’ll come up with another plan, but a noise echoes down the walls of the train's interior. <em>A gunshot.</em> A shiver runs down Lee’s spine, the noise ringing through his head, as though he's heard it before. But there is no time to consider it with more pressing matters at hand. To his dismay, Katara’s right and this is the only way out.</p><p>Readjusting her bag, she places herself in the doorway, gripping the frame with her hand as she mentally prepares herself to jump.</p><p>“Be careful,” Sokka tells her.</p><p>“I am,” she retorts, trying to not let the others see her fear. She jumps.</p><p>And Sokka follows.</p><p>Then Lee finds himself on the ground next to them. The impact knocks the wind out of his lungs and he feels his palm split on the gravel that’s placed between the railroad tracks. He's sure that his knees will be bruised as well. When he looks up, he sees Katara already attending to Sokka, checking for his broken bones before even noticing the blood on her own chin.</p><p>The sun is high now, illuminating the land that stretches before them. Lee figures that those maps Sokka had insisted on packing should come in handy now, because he has no idea how they’re going to get to the Earth Kingdom from where they are.</p><p>Katara sees to him next, bringing cloth to wrap around his hand. He stares at her chin, which must have busted when she fell. He wants to tell her to focus on herself first, but the words don’t find their way out of his mouth.</p><p>“You know, this is all your fault,” her tone is teasing, yet he can’t help but get a bit defensive.</p><p>“How?”</p><p>“If you hadn’t put those negative thoughts into the universe about our trip taking longer, then it would’ve gone fine.” She looks around before whispering to him, “There are spirits listening, and they like when people say stupid things.”</p><p>Sokka joins them, reaching out a hand to help Lee up. “Well, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, since we’re here now. And we need to get to the Earth Kingdom, so let’s get moving.”</p><p>With these words, they pick up their belongings and venture into the woods beside the tracks. Trees bear over them, casting a darkness even in the afternoon. Eventually, they find a clearing to settle in, and Sokka pulls out his maps to begin preparing for the journey ahead. Worry lessons in Lee’s shoulders when he sees Katara finally focus on her own wounds. The terrain may be new but being stranded in the Fire Nation is a situation that Lee is used to. But as he looks at his companions, he begrudgingly admits to himself that their pressence brings comfort to him. Even if this doesn’t work out, at least he won’t be alone.</p>
<hr/><p>The Premier’s office is hotter than usual, the fireplace raging despite the heat that the daytime brings to his home. A bead of sweat drips down Zhao’s forehead, but he pays to mind to it, too enraged by the news that has been delivered.</p><p><em>Those imbeciles.</em> They let them get away. He looks at the paper in his hand, the images of the Water Tribe siblings and the boy with the scar. The very boy that could insight another revolution if the wrong people got their hands on him. Zhao stares at the picture for longer, the headshot taken from a government mandated identification system, it shows all of his features. He is a spitting image of Ozai and Ursa. Even if the prince is dead, his spirit prevails in this boy. And they let him escape.</p><p>He closes his eyes, but the boy has been burned into his vision. He haunts Zhao, like a phantom, waiting for the right moment to strike.</p><p>This should have been handled. He had ordered the two officers who found the boy to keep track of him. They followed him for weeks, reporting that he lives with two people that appear to hail from the Water Tribes. Of course, it’s Water Tribe people, Zhao thinks, only foreigners would want to take down his great country. When whispers of them escaping to the Earth Kingdom reached his spies, he assigned them with the task of apprehending the criminals. Falsifying passports is a crime, and they deserve to be punished. This would be the perfect opportunity to end an insurrection before it has the chance to occur.</p><p>Yet, the train has moved on, and there is no sign of the three. An insider tipped his officers off stating that they boarded it this morning, but his officers reported that they couldn’t be found. Trying to cover up their failures, they boasted instead that they had killed Count Piandao, another danger to the Fire Nation, but Zhao cannot take this as a victory.</p><p>There are dangers to his country on the loose and Zhao has no idea where they are.</p><p>But he does know where they will be.</p><p>Throwing the wanted poster into his fireplace, he watches the flames reduce it to ashes, just as they had done to the royal palace a decade ago. The Premier must do anything to ensure the safety of his nation, even if that means leaving it for a period of time. He made the mistake of leaving such matters to those beneath him, but he would not be the world's greatest leader if he didn't learn from his own mistakes. He reminds himself to speak with his secretary, he needs a private train scheduled for a few weeks time. In the meantime, Zhao looks to his schedule and prepares to reorganize it to accomodate for his new trip. He has business to attend to in Ba Sing Se.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know. I love hearing from you guys!</p><p>(Also how do you all feel about the length of the chapters? Latelty, I feel like they've been too short, but I also don't want to unnecessarily drag out the story. I've always preferred writing one shots to multi chaptered fics, and this is partly why. I'll try my best to make the next updates longer)</p>
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